Musical rubber ball.



R. D. HUGHES.

MUSICAL RUBBER BALL.

APPL'ICATION FILED MAR. I8. 1916.

Patented June 20, 1916.

ROBERT D. HUG-HES, 0F LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOJB. T0 WILLIAM- J.ALMOND,

FRANK H. ALMOND, AND CHARLES H. ALMOND, JR., ALL OF LYNCHBURG, VIR-GINIA.

MUSICAL RUBBER BALL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June an, 1916.

Application filed March 18, 1916. Serial No. 85,154.

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, ROBERT D. HUGHES, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Lynchburg, county of Campbell, State of Virginia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical Rubber Balls, ofwhich the following is a specifica tion.

This invention relates to musical balls, particularly to musical ballsof soft rubber having one or more apertures therein to permit of theready inflation and deflation thereof and having secured in, or adjacentto, the aperture or apertures, a reed or other musical appliance whichis adapted to sound when air passesthrough the aperture upon thedeflation or inflation of the ball.

The object of this invention is to provide a ball of the above classwhich may be ar-' ranged to give forth sounds of the same or differentcharacter, upon inflation and deflation, and in which the soundingmember is attached to the ball on the inside in such a way as to befirmly held in position at all times, and effectively protected againstdamage or destruction when the ball is thrown 'or deflated, by a casingof stiff material which surrounds the sounding member.

Another object is to provide a ball having the above noted features inwhich the musical appliance is secured in place within the outer surfaceof the ball with no projecting parts, thus leaving a ball of uniformouter surface with no metal or rigid parts extending to or through theouter surface.

The invention will be fully disclosed in the following description,taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a section through the center of the ball and through thesounding device; Fig. 2 is a section along line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isa section of a portion of the ball showing a modified manner ofattachment ofthe sounding device; Fig. 4 is a similar view of anothermodification; Fig. 5 is a sectional view along the line 55 of Fig. 4.

The spherical rubber wall of the ball is indicated by the numeral 10, inthe drawing and it is made in two hemispherical parts vulcanizedtogether, in the usual manner.

Referring to the form shown in Fig. 1, the aperture through which theair is adapted to pass in the inflation and deflation of the ball isshown at 11, and the tubular soft rubber portion which is alinedtherewith and adapted to contain the sounding member, is indicated by12, the sounding member ber tube 12 and materially greater than thediameter of the aperture 11 in the wall 10 of the ball. The member 14 isinserted in the tube 12 before the halves of the ball have beenvulcanized together, and as the outer diameter of the tube is greaterthan the inner diameter of the rubber tube 12, force must be applied inits insertion to stretch the wall of the tube. The rubber tube 12 ismade somewhat longer than the stiff tube 14 and when the latter is fullyinserted, the projecting end 16 of the tube 12 contracts and preventsthe accidental dislodgment of the tube. While I have found that when themember 14 and tube 12 are properly proportioned the friction betweenthem will be suflicient to hold the member 14 in place, it

I will be understood that the invention is not limited to that holdingmeans.

In Fig. 1, I have shown two reeds 15, 15, of the usual type, eachcomprising a troughshaped sheet metal piece 16 and a metal tongue orvibrator 17 the reeds being faced in opposite directions so that one orthe other will sound when air passes through the aperture 11 and tube 14in either direction. The bases 18, 18, of the reeds are of approximatelythe same diameter as the inside of the tube 14 and are held therein byfrictional engagement therewith. It is obvious that one reed alone maybe used or that a plurality of reeds may be inserted. The form of reedused may also be changed as desired.

An elastic cord 19 may be secured to the ball by any well known means,as by the anchor 20, so that the ball may be used as a return ball. -Inusing the ball in this manner, the end of the cord 19 is grasped by onehand and the ball is de flated by pressure of the other hand, afterwhich the ball is thrown out. As it passes through the air in a pathdetermined by the length and strength of the elastic cord, it willgradually assume its normally round shape, drawing in air steadilythrough the aperture 11 and tube 14 and by the reeds 15, 15, to make acontinuous sound.

In Fig. 3 is shown a modified form in which the rubber tube 42 whichcontains the sounding member is vulcanized or cemented onto the innerside of the wall 10 of the ball instead of being integral therewith.This construction may be used, if convenient, but the operation of thedevice is not changed in any respect thereby.

In Figs. 4 and 5 are shown two views of another modification in whichthe rubber tube member is adapted to contain two sounding members 63,there being two apertures 61 in the wall 60 of the ball, registeringtherewith. It is obvious that several sounding members may beplacedtogether in this way or several individual sounding members may bespaced apart, in order to obtain chords when the ball is inflated anddeflated.

As the delicate reed members are always within and protected by thestiff tube 14 they are in no danger of being damaged or destroyed whenthe ball is flattened, or deflated, or struckin play, and as the rubbertube 12 at all times closely engages and holds the sounding member A,the latter cannot become displaced and the device rendered inoperative.

Since the sounding appliance made of relatively hard material does notextend to the outer surface of the ball it will be seen that theobjectionable projecting hard surfaces, present in some sounding balls,are avoided in my device and the appliance being fastened in placeentirely within the ball inaccessible from outside there is lessliability that it will be broken loose.

Having described the invention what is claimed is 1. A sounding toycomprising a hollow member of flexible material and having an aperturetherein, an elastic tube having one end secured to the inside of saidmember in alinement with said aperture, and a sounding device located insaid elastic tube which is adapted to sound upon the deflation orinflation of said flexible member through said aperture.

2. sounding toy com rising a hollow member of flexible material whichnormally tends to keep a definite shape, and having an aperture therein,an elastic tube having one end secured to the inside of said member inalinement with said aperture, a tube of stiff material within saidelastic tube, and a sounding devi ce located in said stifl tube, whichis adapted to sound upon the deflation or inflation of said flexiblemember through said aperture.

3. A sounding toy comprising a hollow member of flexible material havingan aperture therein; a sounding member within said hollow member andadjacent said aperture and adapted to sound when air passes therethroughupon the deflation or inflation of said hollow member, and a stiffcasing surrounding said sounding member to protect it from injury, saidcasing being secured by suitable means to the inside of said hollowmember.

4. A sounding toy comprising a hollow member of flexible material havingan aperture therein; a tube of elastic material secured at one end tothe inside of said hollow member, in alinement with said apsaidaperture, and means on the inside of said ball comprising materialsimilar to the material of the ball for securing said sounding device inplace at said aperture.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ROBERT D. HUGHES.

